Manchester , New Hampshire -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The trail of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev has led investigators to the New Hampshire home of a former Chechen rebel living in exile , a law enforcement official told CNN on Friday .

FBI agents interviewed Musa Khadjimuradov and searched his Manchester home this week , said the official , who spoke on condition of anonymity .

While the official did not detail what investigators uncovered during the search or the contents of the interview , Khadjimuradov indicated in an e-mailed statement to CNN that he was questioned about his contact with dead suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev .

Authorities have cast a wide net in the investigation into the Boston bombings , examining everything from the suspects ' movements to people they knew , to determine whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev or his younger brother , Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , received help in carrying out the attack .

`` I am sure the FBI knows by now that I have nothing to do with the terrible act in Boston , '' Khadjimuradov said in the statement .

`` I would like to state that I barely knew the Tsarnaev family , and only met them for the first time after we moved to the U.S. . During the very few encounters , which were initiated by Tsarnaev , we have never discussed political or religious issues , so I could never guess what ideas were in their minds . ''

What we know about Chechnya

Khadjimuradov , 36 , said this week was the second time he has been questioned by federal authorities about his relationship with the elder Tsarnaev , who visited his home about three weeks before the April 15 bombings that left three dead and hundreds wounded .

Investigators first talked to him on April 29 , he said .

In an interview this week with Voice of America , Khadjimuradov said he believes federal investigators questioned him because they wanted to know whether Tsarnaev had used a shooting range in the area .

`` Because they say he has shooting practice here in New Hampshire . That 's like two or three times . So he bought fireworks here , from New Hampshire , you know ? And he buy some ammunition for guns here in New Hampshire . And before the attack , like three or four weeks , he came to my house , '' he said .

Suspect : Boston bombing was payback for hits on Muslims

`` So now I believe they 're thinking like he was coming here to New Hampshire and that I try to help him or something . ''

He told Voice of America that he met Tamerlan Tsarnaev at a Chechen Society gathering in Boston in 2006 , he had seen him only three times in three years , and the discussions were never about religion or politics .

What was Tamerlan doing in Russia ?

`` Nothing . Never . He never talking about the religious , politics or anything like that to me , '' he said .

Authorities have said the surviving Tsarnaev brother told investigators that no one else was involved .

In addition to questions about how the bombings were carried out , investigators have been trying to determine how the Tsarnaev brothers were allegedly radicalized .

Authorities have said they believe the brothers acted alone , but are investigating whether they could have learned from or been aided by terror groups , including groups overseas .

The Tsarnaev brothers , ethnic Chechens , lived in Kyrgyzstan and Dagestan in Russia 's volatile North Caucasus region , where Islamic insurgency has taken hold in a fight for independence .

Troubled North Caucasus region plagued by violence

Of particular interest has been Tamerlan 's 2012 trip to the semi-autonomous Russian republic of Dagestan , home to numerous Islamic militant groups that have warred against Moscow 's rule .

Russian authorities asked U.S. officials to investigate Tamerlan before the trip , saying they believed he was becoming increasingly involved with radical Islam . The FBI investigated , but found no evidence of extremist activity , FBI Director Robert Mueller told a Senate committee .

In his statement , Khadjimuradov said he understood why authorities wanted to talk to him and that he fully cooperated .

`` These guys need to do everything they can to solve this case , so they can prevent anything like this horror from happening again , '' it said .

Khadjimuradov , who relocated to the United States in 2004 as a refugee , has said he served as one of the bodyguards for Akhmed Zakayev , a Chechen separatist leader wanted by Russia . Zakayev , who now lives in London , did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment .

Khadjimuradov told Voice of America and The New York Times he was paralyzed after being shot in the back by Russian security forces in 2001 .

Opinion : Suspects ' culture of migration and machismo

CNN 's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report .

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Musa Khadjimuradov , 36 , says he has been questioned twice by the FBI

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He says investigators are asking about one of the Boston bombings suspects

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`` I am sure the FBI knows by now that I have nothing to do with the terrible act , '' he says

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Khadjimuradov says he knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev only in passing